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Johnny Depp Says He Was Overpaid for 'Pirates of the Caribbean' Movies

The actor also says that he makes films for "stupid money": "At this point, it’s for my kids. It’s ridiculous."

Johnny Depp says he's overpaid to star in Pirates of the Caribbean, for which he's reportedly earned more than $300 million.

“Basically, if they’re going to pay me the stupid money right now, I’m going to take it,” Depp tells the November issue of Vanity Fair. "I have to. I mean, it’s not for me. Do you know what I mean? At this point, it’s for my kids. It’s ridiculous, yeah, yeah. But ultimately is it for me? No. No. It’s for the kids.”

He's excited about his next project, The Rum Diary, which hits theaters on Oct. 28. He was researching his 1998 movie Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas with Hunter S. Thompson when they discovered the manuscript for The Rum Diary in Thompson's basement.

"Well, you just feel like you’re being raped somehow. Raped ... It feels like a kind of weird -- just weird, man," says the actor, who doesn't mind posing with fans. "But whenever you have a photo shoot or something like that, it’s like -- you just feel dumb. It’s just so stupid.”